Bellows-valve.



Patented Jaml-I, 1910.

Ben/1'0 Y 59 war/7 4 UNITED STATES it-EXTENT ()F FICE.

GEORGE W. BEMIS, OF \VORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

BELLOW -VALVE.

Application filed December 15, 1908.

T0 (ZZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonen V1". 3 citizen of the United States, residingat \Vorcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts,have invei'ited new and useful Bellows-Valve, of which. the following isa specification.

This invention relates to a valve for bellows or other air-pumpingdevices and is especially designed for musical instruments, althoughcapable of use for other purposes' The principal object of the inventionis to provide a construction of valve which shall not be capable ofproducing the disagreeable thumping noise produced by many valves whichare on the market; in other words, to make a valve which shall be substantially noiseless in operation; also to provide a simple, convenientand easily manufactured and repaired construction which shall bepracticable in every way and to improve the details thereof,

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 isa plan of the outside of an ordinary form of bellows showing a preferredembodiment of this invention applied thereto. Fi 2 is a sectional viewof the bellows showing two of these valves in position, one on theinside and the other on the outside, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan viewshowing certain details of construction.

The invention is shown applied to an ordinary form of bellows 10 havingplates 11 thereon. Each of these plates is provided with a plurality ofopenings 12 through which the air is designed to pass in a well knownway and which are designed to take the place of the ordinary valveopenings. These openings are shown as arranged in a circle and at thecenter of the circle is illustrated a fastening device 13 for securingthe center of a circular sheet metal disk valve 14 in position. Thisvalve is secured at the center only so that its edges are free tovibrate toward and from the plate. These edges are made free to vibratein sections independently of each other as by providing a series ofradial slits 15 extending from the edge inwardly to a point near thecenter where the valve is attached. In this way it will be seen thateach section can vibrate as a valve independently of the others.

On the under or seating surface of the Specification of Letters Patent.

g 1 l l l Patented Jan. 11, 1910.

serial No. 467,582.

sheet metal valve, which is preferably made a of aluminum or otherreadily flexible material, is placed a continuous circular sheet 16 ofleather or other flexible non-metallic material. This sheet of course issecured to the plate by the fastening means 13 which passes through themetal disk valve and it is secured to the latter by means of a series oftongues 17 integral with the valve, projecting through the leather andclenched thereto. Its outer edges, however, is free from the edges ofthe metal disk valve all around which permits it to contract and expandand to be entirely free for the desired kinds of movement.

On the plate are mounted a series of stops i i n ed to limit thevibrating motion of the edges of the disk under heavy currents of air.These steps are conveniently arranged to bridge the several slits andconsequently if one of them is broken, those at the sides thereof willoperate to stop the two sections between them and in fact, if desired,the number of stops can be equal to half the number of slits only.

I have found in practice that a valve constructed in accordance with theprinciples herein set forth operates with absolute noiselessness evenunder the most rapid flow of air which is likely to take place in aninstrument of this kind. At the same time it is of very simpleconstruction and can be made very cheaply and is very easily applied,removed and repaired.

\Vhile I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of theinvention, I am aware that many modifications can be made therein by anyperson skilled in the art without departing from the scope of theinvention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to belimited to all the details of construction shown and described, but Ihat I do claim is 1. As an article of manufacture, a valve for a bellowscomprising a rigid support having perforations therethrough, a flexiblesheet metal disk secured thereto and adapted to cover the perforations,said disk having slits from its edges toward the center and having acontinuous sheet of thin leather more flexible than the disk on theunder side thereof free from the sections between the slits at theirouter edges and said sections having means near the center for securingthe leather thereto.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a platehaving openings therethrongh arranged in a circle, a sheet metal valvesecured to said plate at the center of said circle and provided withradial slits extending from its edges toward the center, its edges beingfree to vibrate, and stops mounted on said plate and projecting over theedges 01 said disk in line With the radial slits, whereby each stopprevents excessive motion of two sections of the valve.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a platehaving an opening therethrough, a sheet metal valve secured to saidplate at one side of the open-

